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Saturday, September 22, 2012

It is another time in my life when I have to witness a loss in my family – the death of a loved one. Around 3am on the 20th September, my grandfather, Mbah Amin, passed away. He had suffered a complication of illnesses due to old age. I think he is resting more peacefully now.

Unfortunately, I don’t know my grandfather as well as I would like to. I know that he was a respected member of the House of Representatives during his prime years. I concluded that he was a strict but loving father and husband based on my mother’s stories about him. But age was not so kind to him, as he lost a lot of his memory as he got older and older. He didn’t remember his own children sometimes, let alone his grandchildren. It was sometimes quite funny... in a sad and ironic kind of way.

I will miss him. He always had a kind face with a slightly goofy smile worn across it. He would often tell us stories of his life from uncertain memories. I don’t know if they were completely true, but it was always fun to listen. Rather inappropriately, my siblings and I would sometimes make fun of him and his unique memory. We were rather fond of him, though we only existed in the few precious seconds of his short term memory.

I wish I could write more about him, the man who raised my wonderful mother and gave his consent and high approval to my brilliant father. Now I have only one grandparent: my step grandmother, second wife to my grandfather – the person this post is dedicated to. I hope she will be granted enough years to see me be the successful woman I want to be and to cradle my children in her arms.

Cherish your family as much as you can. Sometimes, we never know how precious something is until it’s gone…

Rest in peace, Mbah Amin… May Allah accept all your good deeds and forgive all your mistakes. Amin.